John King

by MICHELLE SPRINGER

TENT MANAGERS are banking on a tax ease from the VAT man.

Last Thursday, president of the Barbados Association of Tent Managers (BATMAN), Sinclair Gittens, said members had already written to Prime Minister David Thompson seeking a reduction from the mandatory 15 per cent VAT they must pay on gate receipts.

"The former Prime Minister [Owen Arthur] did assure us he was prepared to give back the VAT to the tents. All they [the tent managers] had to do at the end of the season was to submit how much they paid in VAT, [and] they would have gotten it back as a [tax] return," Gittens told the SUNDAY SUN.

With a changing of the guard in the Ministry of Finance those negotiations started anew.

Concession

"We did advance a position to the Prime Minister [David Thompson]. We understand that it is difficult to ask for a 100 per cent return from VAT, but we've asked for a concession," Gittens said.

This meeting, he confirmed, occurred a week ago before Prime Minister Thompson delivered his Budget to the nation last Monday. While Gittens said he was hopeful for some good news soon, he noted:

"We're awaiting word. We don't expect anything to happen overnight as these things take time and he was also caught up with the Budget."

The BATMAN head, however, hesitated to give specific details on the concession negotiated saying "it was not for the public domain".

Speaking on behalf of De Big Show, John King supported the move.

"The problems we face are so numerous that the 15 per cent is a killer just to maintain the business. The whole economy is in a sort of a recession. People are going to be very choosy about how they are going to spend their money.

"Entertainment is always going to be at the bottom of the list . . . . All the things we need to establish like lighting and sound, and all the other expenses you need to undertake have gone up," he said.

And he also contended that with gate receipts having to be divided among VAT, calypsonians, the band, auxiliary personnel and the venue, that unless they reached a target of 1 200 people every night they "would forever be operating in the red".

"VAT puts an added burden on you regardless of whether people say you're going to get it back at the end," King added.

"Calypso tents only run for two months in the year and if we have to pay VAT, I can't see how we're going to survive. Some of us get sponsorship and it's not usually right away. But some don't, and you still need money in the till to start again the following year," Eleanor Rice, manager of Cave Shepherd Allstars said, claiming that each night the tent opened there was an overhead of $10 000 to pay in bills.

Lobbying

Since 1997, tent managers have been lobbying for an exemption from the tax, arguing that they contributed to the development of the island's cultural industries.

Ridley Greene of the Celebrity Tent and spokesperson for The Alliance, Barbados' second calypso organisation, would welcome the concession on the VAT for his seven tent members.

"The calypso tent is a cultural environment," Greene said. "The calypso tent is not really a profit-making entity It's a labour of love."

Efforts to reach officials in the Ministry of Finance for comment on the issue were unsuccessful up to press time.

* michellespringer @nationnews.com